Gravel Riding
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2023 Unbound Gravel 100
Back in January, I decided on a whim to enter my name into the lottery selection to Unbound Gravel 100 mile bike race in Emporia, Kansas. Riding a century has been a goal of mine for a while, so why not ride the biggest gravel event in the US –or even the world? At the end of January, I got the email that I had in fact, been selected to ride the 100 103 mile gravel race in Kansas, a place I have never been, let alone ridden my bike. I first heard about this race in 2018 before it was even called Unbound (it is formerly known as the…
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Completing the Vermont “Gorey Quarries” and Riding 92 Miles of Vermont Gravel
In October 2022, I decided to challenge myself to a Vermont Gravel Trifecta of my own design. I would attempt to ride a total of 92 miles, climbing nearly 11,000 feet in total over the course of three days during Vermont’s peak fall foliage. On Friday, October 8, I took a vacation day and drove to Dover, Vermont for Part 2 of the Mohawk Hudson Cycling Club’s Green Mountain Gravel Grab (I skipped Part 1 since it was on a Thursday). It was a 22 mile ride around Southern Vermont with fantastic sweeping views of the green mountains and delightful fall foliage. The route also contained one of the longest…
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Gravel Riding in the White Mountains of New Hampshire
For my birthday weekend this year, Jordan and I brought our bikes up to the White Mountains in New Hampshire for some gravel riding. The highlight of the route was the Presidential Rail Trail that spans about 20 miles from Gorham, NH to Whitefield, NH with great views of the Presidential Range. Another highlight was riding through White Mountain National Forest! We booked a bare bones hotel in Gorham to set up a base camp. We loaded our bikes and all of gear and headed out. We first stopped at White Mountain Cafe to get some sandwiches to go for lunch, which worked out perfectly. Our plan was to ride…
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The Berkshire Backroad Gravel Grinder (B2G2) ’22 – 4.23.22
In 2021, one of my favorite gravel events was the Berkshire Backroad Gravel Grinder, a challenging 39 mile route in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. My only goal for 2022 was to ride the route faster than last year. The biggest difference this year was that I actually spent the winter following a training program (and training for the Great North 50 which I didn’t end up completing). The other difference was that I’d be riding my new bike! Lighter wheels! Lighter components! I hoped that would also play a role. The weather for the B2G2 was a lot nicer than for the Great North and Toad Strangler, which made…
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The Great North Mini Gravel Ride – 4.9.22
